A study led by the Digestive Diseases and Microbiota group at the Girona Biomedical Research Institute Dr. Josep Trueta (IDIBGI) has developed predictive models to identify the environmental and genetic factors associated with increased fat tissue in adults. The results, published in the scientific journal eBioMedicine, provide a solid basis for designing obesity prevention strategies for the European adult population.
Until now, the relationship between weight gain and environmental factors such as lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, fats, and processed foods had been demonstrated. However, these associations lacked sufficient predictive power to serve as a basis for public health prevention strategies or were only applicable to certain European regions. Now, this research has successfully developed environmental models with high predictive accuracy for body fat accumulation at the European level, overcoming the geographical and methodological limitations of previous studies.
To design these models, the research team, led by IDIBGI and the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (IARC), analyzed data from more than 275,000 participants in the European cohort “EPIC”, one of the world's largest studies on the relationship between diet, lifestyle, and health. The results indicate that models incorporating habits such as lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, fats, and processed foods, as well as socioeconomic status, have a high capacity to predict increases in body mass index and fat distribution.
“To develop these models, we used more specific food groups and analyzed a larger number of individuals, which helped refine dietary patterns and improve the prediction model. This is the first time that environmental models have worked well for individuals across the entire European continent”, highlights Dr. Robert Carreras, senior researcher at IDIBGI and corresponding co-author of the article, along with Dr. Heinz Freisling from IARC.
The conclusions differed when the team developed genetic models for predicting obesity. In this case, the researchers found that the role of genetics in obesity prediction varies with age, observing that genetic predisposition significantly influences weight gain in early adulthood (between the ages of 20 and 50) but becomes less relevant after age 50. “Genetics does not add value to the environmental model for predicting weight gain in the second half of adulthood,” explains Dr. Laia Peruchet, a researcher at IARC and first author of the article.
These findings highlight the importance of incorporating prevention strategies based on environmental factors, such as physical activity, diet, and improved living conditions, to reduce the risk of obesity and associated diseases. The study’s results pave the way for designing personalized recommendations for different age groups and adapting them to clinical practice across the European continent.
Article de referència: Peruchet-Noray L, Dimou N, Cordova R, Fontvieille E, Jansana A, Gan Q, Breeur M, Baurecht H, Bohmann P, Konzok J, Stein MJ, Dahm CC, Zilhão NR, Mellemkjær L, Tjønneland A, Kaaks R, Katzke V, Inan-Eroglu E, Schulze MB, Masala G, Sieri S, Simeon V, Matullo G, Molina-Montes E, Amiano P, Chirlaque MD, Gasque A, Atkins J, Smith-Byrne K, Ferrari P, Viallon V, Agudo A, Gunter MJ, Bonet C, Freisling H, Carreras-Torres R. Nature or nurture: genetic and environmental predictors of adiposity gain in adults. eBioMedicine. 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105510
